


Don't you dare (a different kind of chess)

by Mother of Heathens (chasing_the_wild_dream)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Enchanted Forest (Once Upon a Time), Comedy, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Magic, SwanQueen Fanfiction Facebook Group (Once Upon a Time), a different kind of chess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29203773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasing_the_wild_dream/pseuds/Mother%20of%20Heathens
Summary: inspired by the following prompt: Two magicians made a blood oath when they were children that they would never harm each other. Now they are mortal enemies and have resorted to inconveniencing and annoying each other, knowing if they harm one another they'll die.Also, it will be kinda AU. Just a tad.Disclaimer: OUAT and all its characters belong to Adam Horowitz, Eddy Kitsis and ABC.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 114
Kudos: 116





	1. Opening gambit

Emma was trotting through the Forbidden Forest and cursed loudly.  
The weight of her saddlebags was wearing her down and the heat was almost unbearable.

She had been collecting mushrooms, herbs, and some blue roots on her way back home to the White Kingdom when Pegasus, her beloved steed, had dashed off as if the devil would have been after him.  
Emma was still irritated because he had never done that before.  
She had raised him from the day he had been born and he had not failed her, not once in 5 years.  
Until now.

God only knew where he had run off to.

If she wouldn't be stuck in the godforsaken forest she would use magic to find her horse but she couldn't.  
Not here.  
The fairies would hunt her down and there would be hell to pay.

Ever since the White Kingdom and the Black Kingdom had declared war it was an unwritten rule.  
Magicians of both kingdoms would be tolerated in the forest to stock up on supplies as long as they didn't use magic.

One witch, the wicked one from the west, had tried once and had ended up green in the face.  
She looked hideous and Emma didn't even want to know what color she might end up with.  
Probably pink.  
Or worse, something pastel.

Was that the reason why Rumplestiltskin was all glittery?  
Had he messed with the fairies too?  
Emma really didn't want to find out.

She continued her tiresome journey, following the Sparkling River until she reached the Floating Bridge.  
Maybe she should set up camp here because night would fall soon and she didn't want to go too far in case Pegasus would come back.

Emma put the saddlebags down and dropped to the ground with an exhausted moan.  
She just wanted to go back to the castle, take a bath and have dinner with her parents.

Her stomach was growling at the mere thought of food.  
She hadn't eaten since the early morning and she cursed herself because Granny had offered to pack a care package for her but she had declined.  
In all fairness, Emma had been convinced she would be home by tonight and usually she would have been if Pegasus wouldn't have fled like a complete lunatic. Especially since there hadn't even been a threat.  
No strange noises, nothing.  
Weird.  
  
Emma pinched the bridge of her nose before she struggled back to her feet, her outfit rumpled and dirty. At least she had put on the pants and a linen shirt that had been made for her thanks to her father, despite her mother's protests.  
She might be a princess but first and foremost she was the White Kingdom's strongest weapon as the magic-wielding product of True Love.  
And that was why it was even more ridiculous that she was stumbling around in the Forbidden Forest, in search of firewood.  
But the sun would go down soon and while the days were hot the nights here were freezing cold.  
  
She collected the branches she found nearby and stacked them up properly, built a circle of rocks around it to contain her fire, and rummaged through her saddlebags until she found her flints.  
So far, so good.   
  
It took her about 27 tries until she managed to create a spark that actually did light the branches on fire and by the time the first flames were dancing in her little fire pit Emma was done with the day.  
She was so used to doing things with magic ever since Blue had taught her how to master it that she could barely survive without it. That was the reason why she rarely ever took the route through the Forbidden Forest when she was on the way back from visiting her best friend Red at the Moon Lake.  
She only ever went there when she was in need of supplies because not being able to use her magic made Emma feel uneasy.  
  
She watched the flames and thought of Red and a smile appeared on her lips. Her werewolf friend would get a crack out of this because she had been born to survive in any kind of wilderness, magical or otherwise. At least it wasn't raining, Emma thought to herself.  
She hadn't even properly finished said thought when the sky opened up, without warning, and it started pouring heavily.  
What the hell?  
  
There was nowhere to hide and Emma was drenched within minutes. She was a shivering mess and the sun had disappeared which meant she would have to keep moving despite her exhaustion because everything was soaked and there was no way she would be able to light another fire.  
Damnit!  
  
She threw the saddlebags over her shoulders and took the first step onto the Floating Bridge.  
God, she hated that crap.  
  
She always struggled to keep her balance on the damn thing and it was even trickier now because the light was fading more and more by the minute. She moved in baby steps, at a snail's pace no less, and was convinced that she looked like a complete fool but luckily for her no one was around to witness this tragedy.  
  
Emma could already see the other side, could already see the purple glowing border that separated the Forbidden Forest and the White Kingdom's Enchanted Forest in the distance.  
She was so focused on the familiar glow of the border that she didn't pay attention to her feet which caused her to stumble and fall only seconds later.  
Face first into a puddle of foul-smelling, orange goo.  
No. Just no.  
She hadn't just face-planted right into dragon's vomit.  
  
She scrambled to her feet while she muttered profanities, disgusted and absolutely frustrated, and tried to wipe the glibber off of her face, frantically.  
To hell with this cursed day!  
  
She heard it then.  
The dark and melodic chuckle that could only belong to one person.  
Of course.  
She should have known.  
  
"REGINA!", she yelled at the top of her lungs, "This time you've taken it too far! I'll make you pay for this!"  
  
Oh, how much she hated that woman!  
She would strangle her if she could.  
Maybe she'd set her on fire.  
  
Sadly, neither was an option.  
At least not if Emma wanted to stay alive.  
  
Regina Mills, princess of the Black Kingdom.  
A powerful sorceress, no doubt.  
Exceptional at wielding dark magic.  
And the bane of her very existence.  
  
Once upon a time, they had been the best of friends, and therein lies the problem.  
They had sworn a blood oath that they would never harm another.  
Not like their mothers who had taken any chance to pick a fight since Emma could remember.  
They had vowed to be different, sealed with their blood.  
  
Things had been fine until Queen Cora, the Black Queen, had declared war on the White Kingdom about a year ago, and Regina, the traitor, had started to play tricks on her, well aware that she couldn't really harm Emma without fatal consequences to her own life because of the sacred oath they had sworn as children.  
  
It had started with Emma's clothes missing, all of them, one morning.  
She had found them in the duck pond in the castle gardens after searching for hours.  
She had put a spell on Regina's shampoo while the princess had slept as payback and Regina had woken with blonde hair after her next bath, shrieking and screeching.  
  
A couple of weeks later, at the annual Winter Ball, Emma had vomited a frog right onto the table during dinner.  
She had set Regina's apple tree on fire in return.  
  
It had been a constant back and forth between them the last couple of months. Each giving as good as they got but no real harm had ever befallen them, both of them well aware that they would hurt and inevitably kill themselves too.  
It had been pranks, some more silly than others, and while inconvenient and annoying at times, easily fixed with magic.  
Until now.  
  
Because Emma couldn't use her magic at this moment, not without risking severe consequences.  
Not just for herself but also for her kingdom.  
  
The fairies had declared that they wouldn't get involved in this war and they had never once breached their neutrality.  
They had offered aid to the wounded on both sides and allowed both kingdoms to get their magical supplies from the forest equally, to this day.  
If Emma were to break the rules the fairies wouldn't reply in kind, she was sure of it.  
  
It left her more defenseless than she cared to admit and she wondered how Regina had pulled this off without breaking the rules of the Forbidden Forest.  
She would worry about that later though because first, she had to get home.  
  
The silly little game they had played was apparently over.  
Regina had changed their rules and Emma was already plotting her revenge.  
She wouldn't let Regina get away with this.  
  
_Game on._


	2. pawn to e4

Regina walked into the stables, a crisp, red apple for her black steed Morvarc'h.  
He had been a gift from her father's sister Ingrid, Queen of the North, for her 20th birthday.  
Back then he had been only a foal but he had been stunning even then.

Now that he had grown up to be this imposing horse, capable of galloping on waves, fire breathing through his nostrils, Regina loved him even more.  
He was her best friend, closest confidant, and most loyal companion.

She arrived at his bay with a smile on her face only to stop dead in her tracks.  
There were no flames coming out of his nostrils but soap bubbles.

Emma.

Regina grit her teeth while she opened the door and entered the bay to pet her irritated steed.

Oh, how much she hated that insipid blonde witch!  
They might have been friends once but ever since Snow White, Queen of the White Kingdom, had declared war on the Black Kingdom Regina regretted nothing more than the blood oath they had sworn as children.  
They had thought the two of them would change the world together.  
That they would succeed where their mothers had failed.  
How foolish they had been!

For a minute there she had hoped that Emma would come to meet her on the Isle of the Lost where they had always met in secret, ever since their childhood days.  
She had hoped that Emma would show up and they would find a way together – to stop this war once and for all.

But Emma, all high and mighty, like that arrogant mother of hers couldn't be bothered, even though she had sent her crow to deliver a message.

And that had started their own little “war” because Regina had been furious as all hell that the woman who had sworn a blood oath to never harm her had abandoned her when she would have needed her the most.

If only they wouldn't have sworn that bloody oath she would have torn Emma's heart out of her chest already.  
Torn out and crushed to dust.

But she couldn't harm her.  
Not without getting herself killed in the process and there was nothing she could do about it because oaths sealed with blood could not be broken.

She had grown tired of their childish pranks and so she had taken Tinkerbell up on her offer.  
It was the only fairy who had ever cared about her happiness and while Regina couldn't intervene in the Forbidden Forest, Tink could.  
She was a fairy after all.

It had been a delight to see Emma stalk through the forest like a maid, sweating under the weight of her saddlebags.  
Served her right for always being such a snob when in truth Emma Swan had grown so dependent on magic that she could barely tie her own shoelaces.  
That goose.

Regina on the other hand, while incredibly skilled in wielding dark magic, was even more of a force to be reckoned with than it came to her survival skills.  
She had learned early on in life how to become “invisible”, how to stay out in the woods by herself for days, sometimes even weeks, on end to avoid her mother's wrath.

Emma had been spoiled and coddled while Regina had gotten tormented and abused.

They were like the two sides of a medal.  
Light and dark..  
Love and hate.

A soap bubble popped right next to Regina's eye and she clenched her hands to fists.  
She would find a way to squish Emma like vermin and if it would be the last thing she would do.  
\--------------------------------------

Regina returned to her chambers, furious.  
She would be late for her meeting with Robin von Locksley.  
He was a warrior from the Forest of Nottingham and according to Tink he was her soulmate because of his lion tattoo.

Tink had used fairy dust to find him and the symbol of a lion had appeared in the sand.  
If Regina was honest she found him a little bland, a little boring, but soulmate was soulmate, and any chance to leave the Black Castle was welcome.  
At least he was a tall, strong man, a fearless fighter and he wasn't intimidated by her like everyone else.  
It had to count for something.

Unfortunately, it had taken her longer than she had anticipated getting rid of the spell Emma had used on Morvarc'h.  
She had thought it would be a quick fix but once the bubbles had been gone he had started to sneeze like crazy and he had coughed up an army of cockroaches.

She had been so startled that she had set the stables on fire accidently.  
It had taken her a while to get that back under control and fixed before she had managed to return to her chambers.

She tore her wardrobe open, seeing as she needed to change because the dress she was wearing was beyond saving.  
After being torn, singed, and smelling like a lump of coal, not even magic would be able to fix this mess.

But once she took a look at her closet she cursed under her breath.  
That insufferable idiot!

All her gowns were now pastel and glittery and not even dead and defenseless she would ever get caught wearing one of those.

One single black piece caught her eye eventually and Regina smirked in triumph.  
Until she took it out and realized what it was.

It was a maid uniform.

“EMMA SWAN!”, Regina screamed, “You are a dead woman!”


	3. pawn “meets” pawn

Emma had watched through her enchanted mirror as Regina had paced chambers furiously, maid uniform in hand.  
It had been such a delight watching the fire in those soulful brown eyes.  
She missed looking into them, seeing whole worlds in Regina's haunted eyes.

But they weren't close like that anymore.  
Cora had declared war and she had taken Pegasus the moment she had heard and had stormed off to the Isle of the Lost.  
But Regina hadn't been there and had never shown.

She had been worried about Regina first, even before her own kingdom but clearly, Regina hadn't cared half as much because they had never spoken again.  
Not in person.

Regina had merely started her own little vendetta since harming each other was out of the question.

It saddened Emma to this day but there was nothing she could do about it anymore and she didn't want to either.  
Regina had made her choice and had broken their sacred oath.  
She might not have harmed her physically but it didn't mean she hadn't hurt Emma, who had been so determined to be better than their pesky mothers.

Life at the White Castle wasn't all it was cracked up to be and in a world where she was expected to be perfect and had to fake almost everything on a daily basis, Regina had been her only truth.

It had been messy and complicated but whatever had bound them together had been real and it had been theirs.  
They had been friends despite the direst circumstances and there had been a time when Emma had thought that they could be so much more than just friends.  
That they would be able to change the world with love instead of the hate that had reigned between the kingdoms for decades.

But then the war had come and everything was different now.

When she caught sight of Regina greeting Robin she turned off the mirror because she didn't need to see that.  
Whatever Regina wanted with that forest guy was beyond Emma because Regina could do so much better.

She felt her back tingling for a moment before it passed and she shook it off without much thought.  
She'd take Pegasus and patrol the kingdom.  
Pegasus who had been warm and comfy in his bay when she had finally returned from the Forbidden Forest, looking like a drenched rat.  
She was fairly certain that Regina had been behind that too but she couldn't prove it.

She shook the thoughts from her mind, put on her boots, and headed for the stables.  
It was time for patrol.

There had been reports of another fight at the border and Emma wanted to make sure that everything was alright.  
She wasn't allowed to participate in the fighting unless it was a magical attack by the kingdom's rule and she hated it.  
She hated to see their men die when she could easily do something about it.

But her mother wouldn't allow it and there was no defying the queen.  
\-----------------------------------------

Two weeks had passed since she had messed with Regina's wardrobe and nothing had happened.  
It had Emma a little paranoid because she knew that Regina wouldn't just stop.

She had started to expect an attack wherever she went and it had slowly dawned on her that Regina might have done that on purpose too.

Only this morning she had zipped her father with magic when he had squeezed her shoulder unexpectedly from behind.  
God, that infuriating woman!  
Why did Regina have to be that way?

She was clinging to the neck of Pegasus as they sped through the air, the wind in her face, and Emma felt a sense of calm.  
She was way too tense and ready to snap and it was Regina's fault.  
All of it was Regina's fault.

She caught sight of the Isle of the Lost as they flew by and her heart clenched.  
Things could have been different.  
They should be different.

But no, she would have to have dinner with Killian Jones tonight because her mother was convinced that the son of the Pirate King was her True Love.  
Yeah, right.

Snowflake's chance in hell of that ever happening but whatever.  
She wasn't in the mood to fight with her mother on top of everything so she had simply nodded and gone her way.

Emma was about to tell Pegasus to return to the castle when she spotted something sparkling in all shades of green in the middle of the forest and urged her steed to go down, so she could take a closer look.

She strained her neck to figure out what she was staring at.  
It was only when the incredibly vile smell hit her nose that Emma realized what it was.

A puddle of troll snot on the forest floor and it dawned on her that she was headed for a trap.  
She tried to tell Pegasus to turn around but it was too late.  
His wings disappeared from one second to the next and Emma and her usually white steed found themselves right in the puddle, neck deep, moments later.

“GAH!”

Pegasus managed to jump out right away but Emma had no such luck. She was caught up in some vines and it took her a good while to heave herself onto the forest floor, disgusted by the smell and the texture of the glibber sticking to her whole body.

She tried to magic it off without any success.  
Of course, Regina had enchanted that crap!

Pegasus shook himself, sending troll snort flying everywhere and some of it hit Emma straight in the face.  
She screeched in disgust and cursed like a sailor while she heard Regina's dark laugh in the distance.  
That woman!  
She would set her on fire, consequences be damned.

Emma tried magic once more and found herself not only covered in troll snot but also in feathers.  
No!

She caught sight of a piece of parchment float in the air and snatched it angrily.

_Have fun with the pirate tonight, princess. I hear he digs chicks. I was merely trying to help you pick an outfit._

“REGINAAAA!”

Emma found herself screaming on top of her lungs once more, furious as all hell.  
She'd kill her with fire because this ridiculous war between them would burn them anyway.


	4. the knight's first move

Regina was listening to Robin talking about his forest adventures, ready to stab herself in the eye with one of his arrows.  
Did fate really hate her that much?  
How could that moron possibly be her soulmate?

She caught sight of the tattoo on his forearm as he plucked a dandelion and held it out to her.  
She sighed heavily.

A dandelion.  
For a princess.  
Good grief, what was she thinking?

He was a simple man and she didn't care much for material things but a dandelion?  
Couldn't he at least find some wild-growing roses or something?  
Was that really too much to ask?

She remembered how Emma had climbed up the volcano once to pick a Lava rose for her after Hell's Fury had erupted.  
They had been teenagers then but Regina had been so touched by the lengths Emma had gone to for her and in how much danger she had put herself to accomplish her task.

It was quite ironic that she was the greatest threat to Emma's safety these days, wasn't it?

And Robin von Locksley, one of the greatest warriors of all time had picked her a dandelion.  
How she should put up with this madness for the rest of her life Regina didn't know but she knew that she needed a lesson in patience.  
Or fifty.

Robin, clueless as ever, kept chatting about his band of Merry Men and how they had found out that rosemary made game taste a lot less bland and Regina grit her teeth.  
No, this simply wouldn't do.  
She caught sight of a fallen trunk and gestured for Robin to follow her.

He let himself fall onto the trunk like a sack of potatoes mere minutes later and Regina rolled her eyes while she sat down with as much grace as she possessed.  
She had been raised to be queen one day and if her mother knew that her soulmate had no manners whatsoever she would probably set him on fire.

“How are things at the front? I hear there have been many casualties lately?”, Regina asked with sadness.

Why her mother couldn't have been the bigger person once in her life Regina would never understand.  
So, Snow had decided to pick another senseless war but it was the men, and even some women, of this kingdom who were paying the price for their idiocy once again.

“Sadly yes”, Robin admitted, “On both sides though. I will return to the battlefield in two day's time as well.”

“Oh?”  
Regina couldn't help but worry.  
She might not care for him the way she should but he was her soulmate.  
Her only chance to ever escape this life because even Cora accepted the concept of soulmates.  
The magical rules were the only ones her mother had ever respected and she had never dared to break them.

“Fear not, my Princess”, he said and took her hand to put a kiss on the back of her hand.

She didn't appreciate the gesture in the slightest and she could have down without his beard scratching over her skin and she had to fight the instinct to pull her hand away.

“I will return to your side before you'll know that I am gone”, Robin assured in earnest and Regina closed her eyes so he wouldn't see her rolling them.  
She wished she could look forward to his return but she'd rather rip her hair out one by one.

“What is this?”, Robin asked and looked at the sparkling light dust surrounding them all of a sudden, “Is that magic? True Love's magic?”

Regina's eyes went wide in horror.  
God, no!  
Soulmate was one thing but True Love?!  
Over her dead body.

She had resigned to her fate the moment she had seen his tattoo for the first time.  
He would be her way out of the Black Kingdom unless her mother passed away before she would have to marry for her 25th birthday in a couple of months but what were the chances of that ever happening?  
So, she would marry her soulmate but she had always kept the hope that maybe there was another out there for her.  
Her True Love.

She had dreamed about a flaming romance that would consume her ever since she had been a child.  
One night she had confided in Emma when they had lain on a blanket, watching the stars together.  
But if Robin wasn't only her soulmate but also her True Love, well, then her last sparkle of hope would be snuffed out.  
It couldn't be.

But they were surrounded by magic.  
And it was light and he had kissed her hand and...  
She felt like puking. 

She heard Robin gasp a second later before he jumped up and backed away from her.  
What now?

“Regina, what is this? What happened to...to your...f-face?”, he stammered.

She raised an eyebrow and realized that it felt weird.  
What the hell?  
She flicked her wrist and her pocket mirror appeared in her hand which Regina opened immediately only to stare at the reflection of a wild boar.

She wanted to scream Emma's name but it only came out as a week.  
Like a goddamn pig!

And then Emma was staring back at her from the mirror and she was laughing  
Full-on laughing.

“Sorry, your majesty. I figured you might get along better with a bit of a beard since he loves the forest so much.”

She would kill her.  
No, first she would torture her, and then she would kill her.  
Slowly.  
If she'd pay with her own life so be it.


	5. the black knight counters

Emma had almost regretted playing Regina like that because she knew how much True Love meant to Regina and how it had been her only hope during the darkest days of her childhood.  
Until she had come back to her chambers to find most of her books burning in the fireplace, unsalvageable.

The fury she had felt.  
God, she would have strangled Regina on the spot would she have been there.

Regina had woken up in a bed full of toads a couple of days later, seething, eyes sparkling with hatred and disgust, in retaliation.

Emma's back had kept tingling over the next couple of weeks until she had finally taken a look in the mirror, only to find patches of color all over it.  
At first, she had thought they were bruises but they didn't fade.  
And she couldn't wash them off either.  
Clearly, it was something Regina had done to her but what in God's name was that supposed to be?

Regina's revenge had come in form of a truth serum about a week later.  
Unfortunately, Emma had consumed it at the worst possible time – five minutes before the council meeting where she had told her mother and her advisors that they were all stupid and that this whole war was ridiculous.  
When Grumpy, the dwarf, her mother's most trusted friend, and ally, had told Emma to get her shit together Emma had told him to grow up before talking to her.

The council meeting had turned into a madhouse after that and Emma had prayed for the ground to swallow her whole.  
Damn Regina Mills!  
Princess of the Black Kingdom or not, she would pay for this.

And that was why Regina had found herself stuck in the forest with Robin and his Merry Men about two weeks later.  
For a whole weekend.

And maybe Regina had fallen into the mud head first and the river had suddenly gone dry, so bathing had been out of the question.  
What a shame.

Unfortunately, that had resulted in the disappearance of most of Emma's potion supplies.  
She had found them behind the stables eventually, covered in horse dung and therefore ruined.  
God, that insufferable woman!  
How they had ever been friends was beyond Emma.

Of course, she remembered all the times Regina had comforted her when she had been upset with Snow or when she had felt more misplaced than usual.  
Emma had never been the typical princess.  
While she cared for the kingdom she couldn't care less about the crown.

Now at twenty-three, she was expected to marry and prepare for her role as queen when she'd rather be on the battlefield with their knights.  
But her mother would never allow it and her father didn't have the backbone to fight his wife.

Pegasus was trotting through the Forbidden Forest once more because she had to get new supplies and she hated Regina a little more for that.  
Especially after what Regina had done to her the last time she had been here.

And this time she didn't have time to visit Red either because the Solistice Ball was coming up and she had to help with the preparations.  
It was still a couple of weeks away but the castle was already in chaos.

There would be a five-day ceasefire per tradition.  
It had been upheld over decades, despite all the wars that had been fought before this one.  
It was kind of sacred and even Cora respected that.

The rulers of the Black Kingdom might even make an appearance and Emma dreaded it if she was honest because she really didn't want to see Regina.  
This was a big, fat lie, obviously because she always wanted to see Regina, even when they were fighting.

She stopped Pegasus on a little clearing and tied him to a tree because she wouldn't take any chances.  
This time he wouldn't run off.  
Especially since she had to collect quite a few blue roots for her healing potions.

Emma was about to open her saddlebags when she heard someone whispering in the forest.  
She snuck forward as quietly as she could and spotted two of the fairies, Nova and Tinkerbell, sitting on a log, chatting.

“Are you sure that Robin von Locksley is Regina's soulmate? Maybe you did something wrong”, Nova asked, seemingly unconvinced.

Emma almost snorted because no one in their right mind could believe that for a second.  
Right?

“Of course, I'm sure. He wears the mark. The lion tattoo”, Tink answered, absolutely convinced, and it made Emma stagger backward for a moment.

She hadn't seen it close up but she knew Robin carried a tattoo on his lower arm.  
What if he really was Regina's soulmate?  
It wouldn't mean he was her True Love as well, she knew that better than anyone, but the chances of having a soulmate and a True Love, separately, was quite slim.  
It wasn't impossible but it was highly uncommon.

If he really was Regina's only chance, if he really was _the one_.  
Well, shit.


	6. The bishop enters the field

Regina was fuming.  
It might have been a shitty move to ruin all of Emma's supplies, especially with the war raging through their lands but she had been so angry.  
Furious really.

Of course, she had known how Emma hated the Forbidden Forest for being defenseless and yet she had “sent” her back.  
She had been well aware that Emma would have to go immediately for lack of supplies and she had also known that a storm was heading that way.

She had watched through the mirror that she had hidden in one of the large oak trees how Emma had cowered behind a few rocks, trying to find shelter, scared to the bone and it had to torn at her heartstrings for a moment.

Emma was a lot of things but scared wasn't one of them.  
The White Princess was the bravest person she knew, Regina had to give her that.  
With a self-confidence that could be considered arrogant at times and the heart of a true warrior.

So, seeing Emma scared because she couldn't use magic to protect herself had made Regina feel a bit uneasy for a moment but then she remembered her dreadful weekend in the forest with Robin and his Merry Men and she had made the mirror disappear while the guilt had stayed.

But now that she stood in front of the ruins of the cabin she had built over many years with her own bare hands she was ready to kill Emma with those same hands.  
Kill them both if need be for all she cared.

It had been her secret hide-out whenever Cora had fallen completely off the wagon of sanity and now it was gone.  
Crushed by the foot of an orge that had appeared out of nowhere from one moment to the next.

It would take her forever to rebuild it since she couldn't use magic to do it or her mother would find it and that couldn't happen.  
It was the only sanctuary she had ever had, a place of calm and safety and Regina wasn't ready to give that up.  
She needed it to survive.

The fact that the orge had drooled like a madman and that she was covered in green glibber did nothing to calm her raging heart.  
God, how much she hated Emma!

Their battle was getting out of hand, became more destructive by the second and Regina was well aware of it.  
It was only a matter of time before they would be at each other's throat, clawing, choking, and then?

The ball was coming closer and she dreaded going.  
There mere thought of bumping into Emma made her feel cold and tragically sad.  
They had been the closest of friends once.  
What the hell had happened to them?  
Why had they allowed things to escalate like that?  
It was their mothers' war, not theirs.  
Never theirs.  
They had sworn to be different and yet.  
And yet they were on a path to ultimate destruction.

She took a last look at the remains of what had once been her cabin before she disappeared in a cloud of purple magic.  
Emma had taken away what little shelter she had, her only place of safety.  
And now she would take away Emma's.  
\----------------------------------

Regina had watched with delight when the little boy she had paid to gift the White Princess the cuff had put it on Emma's wrist.  
Her smirk had turned into triumphant laughter when Emma had realized that she couldn't take it off and that she could no longer access her magic.  
She had cackled at the horror in Emma's eyes, no longer feeling any mercy.

Until Emma had taken off on Pegasus, headed for the border, straight onto the battlefield because word had reached her that one of her friends, a knight named Neal, had been wounded.  
The idiot.  
No magic and not even wearing armor she had jumped right into the battle, fighting her way through until an assassin of the Black Guard had run his blade into her ribcage, causing Regina to gasp in horror.

Emma's loyalty had always been unmatched and she had loved her for it from the moment they had met.

Now it was the reason Regina saw Emma fall, blood oozing out of her side, fighting to breathe and before she knew what she was doing she appeared next to Emma in a cloud of purple smoke while the war raged on around them, only to whisk them both away moments later.

Regina found herself in the Forbidden Forest with an unconscious Emma within the minute, completely distraught. 

“TINKERBELL!”  
Her voice was shaking and tears threatened to fall but Regina didn't care.  
She hadn't meant for this to happen, for Emma to get hurt so badly.

The fairy appeared with a shriek, “Regina, what did you do?”

“Nothing. I...she...cuff...she has no magic. She got hurt on the battlefield”, Regina rasped out, “By my mother's favorite assassin. Hades. You have to help me heal her.”

Tink studied Regina for a moment, “Really? Why? Let her die and everything will be over, even the war. The White Kingdom is nothing without her. You didn't harm her, it won't affect you.”

Regina rose to full height, “I don't care about dying! Our silly game was never meant to kill either of us. I need you to help me. Save her, Tink. Save her. She doesn't deserve to die.”  
_I need her._

“Very well.”  
\---------------------------  
It was a close call but they did manage to save Emma's life in the end with magic and lots of fairy dust.  
Regina didn't even care about breaking the rules of not using magic but when the Blue Fairy showed herself to see what was going on she didn't even chastise them.  
She only nodded in acknowledgment before she vanished to inform Snow White of the whereabouts of the princess.

Tinkerbell made herself scarce once Emma was healed, only a scar in place of a life-threatening injury.  
Regina was still sitting with Emma, holding her unconscious body, her hands covered in blood.

She stared at the dark bruises on Emma's back, not sure what had happened to Emma because they couldn't have been caused by the fall.  
They were older, darker than an average bruise.  
She had tried to heal them with magic but that had only made it worse.

Whatever was wrong with Emma was worse than their battle it seemed.  
When Emma steered a few minutes later Regina finally got moving. 

She ripped the cuff off of Emma's wrist and disappeared right before sparkling green eyes flew open.


	7. bishop "meets" bishop

Regina had expected Emma to hit back hard or even harder but nothing had happened.  
Nothing.  
Not a single prank.  
It had irritated her to no end because Regina had thought Emma would throw bloodshed and torture at her.

The Solstice Ball was in two days' time and Regina feared that Emma would do something stupid, something reckless, to get back at her.  
Something that would disrupt the ceasefire and then everything would go to hell.  
Emma wouldn't dare, would she?

Well, after everything that had happened could she really blame Emma?  
The truth was she couldn't.  
It made Regina feel rather uneasy though and not even because she was worried about herself but she feared that if Emma took their little private war public it would have repercussions for everyone.

And that was why she appeared in the mirror of Emma's chambers late that night.  
To negotiate a “ceasefire” of their own.  
\-------------------------------

Their conversation had been short and Regina had been even more irritated because Emma couldn't stop talking usually.  
Not once in all these years had she seen Emma so subdued and quiet.  
Brooding.

It had unsettled Regina more than she would ever admit but Emma had told her she had absolutely no plans to get back at her because she _knew_ that it had been Regina who had saved her.  
That she had felt Regina's magic and that she was well aware that Regina hadn't meant for this to happen.

That had baffled Regina the most.  
After all the pranks they had played on each other, all the destruction they had caused, Emma still believed her, believed in her.  
How was that even possible?

Snow White might have started the war but it had been Regina who had set off their own feud when she simply should have let her mother deal with her own crap.

Now that Regina was sitting in the carriage, Robin by her side, she felt nauseous.  
They were headed to the White Castle for that ridiculous ball that both her and Emma had always despised ever since they had been children.

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous but Regina could barely breathe.  
For a moment there she had thought she could skip it but then her mother had made it abundantly clear that the consequences would be severe if she would disobey and so here she was.

In a carriage to bring her face to face with Emma for the first time since this madness had started and in a way Regina felt as if it would be the beginning of the end.  
She felt as if she would be on the way to her own execution.  
\-----------------------------------

Emma wasn't too happy that she had to wear a dress although this one wasn't so bad.  
She had chosen it herself because it had to solve a very specific purpose and she was sure it would.  
Later.

She put on her royal coat and met Killian, who had waited in front of her chambers.  
His manners weren't as bad as she had expected but she would never marry him, no matter how much her mother tried to push her.

No, she was destined to be with someone else.  
She knew it.  
She could feel it too.

For now, she would make her great entrance and try to find Regina.  
Truth be told the Black Princess was the sole reason why Emma was even bothering to attend.

Something shady was going on her and she was determined to figure it out.  
But she needed Regina's help.  
And they really needed to talk.  
If only Regina wouldn't be such a stubborn mule.  
\-------------------------------------

There were too many people!  
Emma sighed in frustration because she had looked for Regina everywhere but she had yet to find her.  
She had allowed Killian to swirl her over the dancefloor one too many times and she felt dizzy.

Her mother had tried to nudge her right back into Killian's arms but Emma was in need of some fresh air.  
She had flat-out told her mother that if she didn't want Emma to puke all over the ballroom floor she would let her go.  
Snow had looked at her with wide eyes and glee which had only caused Emma to roll her eyes at her mother in pity, “I'm not pregnant. Don't get any ideas.”

God, she really shouldn't have come.

Emma fled from the room, down the corridor, and out onto the Moon Terrace for a few moments of quiet, only to stop dead in her tracks.  
There she was.

Regina in all her purple glory, stunning as ever.  
And in the company of Robin von Locksley.

Oh, this would end in a complete disaster.

“Emma!”, Regina yelped in surprise, eyes wide.

“It's good to see you too, Regina”, Emma chuckled, “You look beautiful.”  
She watched Regina's face soften immediately and Emma could have sworn that her heart had skipped a beat at the sight.

“Robin von Locksley”, the well-known warrior introduced himself and held out his hand for Emma to shake.

Emma did, unimpressed, and stated, “Glad to finally meet you in person. I've heard so much about you and your famous lion tattoo.”

Robin looked at her, confused and dumbfounded, “Lion tattoo? What lion? I only have one tattoo on my forearm and that's a bear.”

Emma had to bite her tongue at the sight of a horrified Regina, whose eyes were wide as saucers as she took a step back, “W-what?!”

Robin pulled up his sleeve and showed the tattoo to Emma.  
It was a bit blurry and Emma had to admit that it wasn't all that easy to pinpoint what it was but since Robin had mentioned it she could make out the bear quite easily.

“Who told you that I had a lion tattoo?”, Robin asked Emma, “What kind of sense would that even make? I'm a man of the forest.”

“I must have misunderstood. I apologize”, Emma offered with a smile and he accepted before he bowed to the both of them, “I take it you two of much to discuss. I'll leave you to it.”  
He kissed Emma's hand and then Regina's and within a minute he was gone, leaving Regina to fend for herself. Oh, what a true warrior he was.


	8. Interception

Regina looked around frantically, not sure what to make of the whole situation.  
How had she not seen this, how had she not realized this?  
She had spent months trying to accept Robin as her soulmate only to find out that his hideous tattoo was supposed to be a bear.  
She prayed that the ground would open up and swallow her whole right now.

“Regina.”

“Don't!”, she snarled back, not able to deal with the kindness in Emma's voice.  
Especially not now.

“You said you wouldn't do anything to embarrass me tonight”, Regina grit out through clenched teeth, “You gave me your word. And you broke it once again. Why am I not surprised?”

“You were the one to start with this whole crap!”, Emma yelled back.

“Only because your mother declared a new war”, Regina snapped and watched Emma shake her head in disbelief, “Bullshit! It was your mother who declared that war, not mine.”

Regina snorted, “Nonsense. I remember my mother tearing the door to the throne room off its hinges when the message arrived. She was livid. She almost choked me with magic in her fury.”

Emma's eyes went wide in horror, “That can't be true. We were standing in the yard. Red was here to visit when the messenger came with the note. It said that the Black army had invaded one of the villages near the border.”

“What?!”, Regina didn't want to believe it but why would Emma lie? There was no point.

“I think we should probably talk”, Emma suggested, pacing back and forth, “This doesn't make sense. Who would gain anything from this war?”

They looked at each other for a moment until understanding finally sunk in and they were hit by one and the same realization.

“Rumplestiltskin”, they said in unison.

“No!”, Regina gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

“That bastard”, Emma growled.

They both fell silent, trying to process this new piece of information.  
God, they had been so dumb.

It was Regina who found her voice first, “Why didn't you show up on the Island of the Lost? I sent my crow to let you know I'd be waiting for you.”

“What are you talking about? I went there straight away. I waited there for you but you never showed. And I never saw your crow”, Emma looked completely confused now, “How's that even possible?”

“Magic”, Regina snarled, “Rumple must have done something. How else do you explain us being in the same place without meeting? Without even realizing that the other had been there?”

Emma covered her face with her hands and sighed, “We've been fighting for nothing all this time?”

“I suppose so”, Regina admitted in defeat, “I still don't understand why. What does he gain from this?”

Emma paled all of a sudden when everything clicked into place in her mind.  
Oh, for heaven's sake!

“Regina, I have to tell you something”, she whispered, sounding almost shy.

Emma hesitated because she wasn't sure how Regina would take the news because of their little feud that had gone way too far.  
She turned around, dragging it out as long as she could but Regina wasn't known for her patience.

“What am I supposed to do? Stare at your coat?”, Regina growled in confusion.

Emma sighed, took a deep breath, and took off her coat, revealing her back.  
A disbelieving gasp was Regina's only reaction.

Right there on Emma's back was a tattoo of a roaring lion, majestic in all his glory.

“It all started when our little personal war intensified. You were spending more time with Robin and I felt those tingles on my back”, Emma explained, “I thought you had cursed me or something. It looked like bruises until you saved me with your magic. That's when the tattoo revealed itself completely.”

“You...you are the one with the lion tattoo?”, Regina rasped out, still trying to wrap her mind around this turn of events.  
It couldn't be, could it?

Emma shrugged, “Well, my family is the one with the lion in the family crest. It kinda makes sense, no?”

When Regina didn't say anything Emma grew nervous, “I didn't expect it either but then again...I'm not all that surprised. I know you probably don't want it to be me because you hate my guts but we were friends once. We were so close and I thought”

Emma felt herself getting pushed against the banister forcefully mid-rant and for a second she thought Regina would throw her off the terrace but then their lips crashed together in a heated kiss and stole the breath from her lungs.  
From both of their lungs.

And the dark night sky was illuminated in a ray of colors and magic dancing in the air, all around them, like fairy lights.  
True Love's Kiss.

Well, she would be damned!


End file.
